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I am often asked for advice on how to update kitchens on a budget or without too much work and with this kitchen we pulled out all the tricks. It is the kitchen of Bri Emery of Design Love Fest, we gave her kitchen a major upgrade with almost no heavy lifting and I’m here to tell you all the secrets.

First thing first, we got pretty lucky… when Bri and I met to chat about what she wanted to do in her kitchen, the first thing I checked was who made her existing cabinets and we both celebrated when we found out it was already an Ikea kitchen. The reason for the big celebration was because that meant we could use the SemiHandmade doors and drawer fronts that I designed without having to change out any of her cabinet boxes (which also meant we didn’t have to touch the beautiful marble countertops either). All we had to do was swap out the Ikea doors and drawer fronts for the SemiHandmade ones for a different look. It really is the ultimate Ikea hack.

When Bri bought the house it had just undergone a complete renovation. The finishes were well chosen for a flip so while they might not have had a ton of personality, the kitchen wasn’t offensive in anyway. There was already the great marble countertops (remember how when I did her dining room we added an overhang behind the range so we could add a seating area with stools?) but when paired with white semi-gloss flat cabinets, white shiny subway tile, and brushed nickel/stainless hardware, overall the space was pretty cookie cutter. It didn’t reflect the personality or style that Bri is known for.

Another simple way of updating a kitchen that we’ve all heard 100 times, but if you haven’t tried you will be surprised as to just how much it works, is switching out the cabinet hardware. The silver ones she had were nice and modern but by using a more unique shape and color, the whole space fees more bespoke. We used the hardware I designed for Park Studio in the half moon, and the ottawa.

Next was where things did get a little construction dirty but for a full kitchen update it was pretty minimal and only took a couple days (like 3!). We had her backsplash demolished and re-tiled with this stunning Tabarka Studio tile. It is a cement tile with a brass inlay and after mulling over the backsplash tile for months, we saw this one and knew it was it. I then created a more unexpected pattern using them vertically on one half and horizontally on the other half, having the pattern meet in the middle on the diagonal.

And finally, in order to utilize some vertical wasted space, we added a SemiHandmade floating shelf above a bank of cabinets to give her some extra surface area for storage and utility items.

If all that is still too much for your budget or time commitment and you are desperate for a change in the kitchen… lay down a new rug, and pick some fresh flowers for an instant kitchen pick me up.

EXCITED does not cut it with this one and that is because my excitement is three fold. Wait maybe four fold, or five… I lost count. Let’s see, Number 1: My friends that are the talented trio behind everyone’s favorite wedding site, 100 Layer Cake, just opened their very own studio/event space… Festoon! It is on the west side of LA, which us west side gals were always desperate for (so much schlepping to the east side for parties). Number 2: I designed the kitchen and front bar/flexi-space with a multitude of different types of events in mind and I kind of want to call it my other LA house (I’m not alone MyDomaine wants to live there too). Number 3: I got to use the cabinet door line I designed with Semi-Handmade for the kitchen cabinets (with Ikea boxes) and my hardware collection that I designed for Park Studio! Number 4: It is the debut install of my own line of concrete tile that I designed for Concrete Collborative! Number 5: Creative spaces are so rewarding to design, seeing all the different types of parties, workshops, pop-up shops that have already come through the space and how they use it is incredibly fun to witness and be a small part of (did you see this stunning bar set up?) See yes, definitely at least five fold. Now onto the space and all the yummy details…

Oh hi Amanda, Kristina and Jillian, aka 100 Layer cake and Festoon boss ladies. That lounge area they put together is all kinds of stunning and totally my color palette du jour.

There was previously no kitchen in the space, so we had to build out a new one. Like I said above, I used my line of Semihandmade doors for Ikea cabinets in the the kitchen and my SSS x Park Studio hardware (we have added appliance pulls and additional sizes to the collection now which we got to use on the refrigerator above). Both are modern versions of classic designs that match the 100 layer cake/festoon aesthetic perfectly. And like I mentioned… Festoon is the very first place I was able to install my new line of cement tile that I designed for Concrete Collaborative. It’s a series of 5 designs that you can use all together, as shown above, or create patterns with the various designs. The countless different pattern possibilities alone have me SO excited to start using the tile every where I can. The color is a subtle lilac that borders on a warm gray but with just a touch of purple that reminds me of the color of the mountains around the desert in Palm Springs. The tiles are made to order so the color is completely customizable as well (more on the tile line soon!).

Now onto the front of the house… When you first walk into Festoon you are greeted with a wide open space. It is a studio, it is an event space, it’s an office, it can be whatever the heck you can think of… it is available to rent. Most importantly, the space had to be flexible to house all those different kinds of functions. By building out cabinets and running a countertop along the whole back we created a versatile backdrop that could become a buffet, the back side of a bar, a wall for display or paired with the island look like a kitchen. A subtle custom blush venetian plaster was applied to the walls and three pairs of brass sconces extend over the countertop. I also designed the large island to be moveable (it’s on large caster wheels) so they can take it out of the main area to make room for larger events or reposition it around the space for different uses. A bar, a work table, a dessert buffet, a check-out counter, you name it. The front side of the island houses more cabinets so when facing out it can also serve as a large credenza/versatile furniture piece. I had Concrete Collaborative make a custom size tile and mixed a few different finishes along with different colors to create the pattern on the back side.

There she is! Hope you enjoyed the tour and if you’re in the area definitely book an event at Festoon (and please invite me so I have the excuse to come back).

We’re back today with the last room update of the A-frame 2.0 and how I re-designed it for the new owners! The master bedroom has to be my favorite, so much so that I like it even better now over how I furnished it for ourselves. It might have something to do with dreamy bed, or the rug (ok it definitely does), but for sure it is the earthy but rich color palette.

and if that isn’t enough… I know the new crew has been working on finishing a couple of the spaces that we didn’t get to before we sold it. They are giving what we used as an old storage shed a big overhaul and they also fulfilled our pool dreams that we had for the space so stay tuned!

Continuing on with the tour of the “A-frame 2.0” (aka how we re-styled it for the new owners, Caroline, Jayden and Robert)… we have the laundry room with a quick update. New wallpaper, new rug, and a couple new accessories give this little space that packs a punch, a whole new feel.

It sure has come along way… take a peek back at my finished reveal to see the real “before my before” photos. ew!

Back with the next room of our old A-frame 2.0 and how we re-decorated the space for the new owners! This room is the little den bedroom just off of the living room. You might remember the DIY headboard I had in there previously and how we added the vertical paneling to cover some horrendous walls. We glammed it up a bit for Caroline, Jayden and Robert, but the boho vibes are still strong too.

This is the original board for the re-design, by the time it went to the procuring, the side tables were sold out and we had to swap the rug but I love how this pretty pad with a nod to the mod turned out. See how I designed this space before, for us, and the before of the before here. Which is your fave?